The BEARR Trust’s Small Grants Scheme 2023

It has been part of BEARR’s long-term mission to foster cooperation and partnerships, in the belief that this is fundamental to the operation of successful civil society organisations (CSOs).
For 2023, as part of Strand A of the scheme, we invited applications for up to £4,000 for joint projects that promote the long-term partnership between two or more CSOs supporting vulnerable people in any area of health or social welfare. Applications were invited from CSOs in Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
We also invited, in Strand B, applications for up to £1,000 from existing grantees in Ukraine and Moldova for projects to support the welfare of staff and volunteers as well as improving the organisation’s overall resilience.
The following organisations were awarded grants:
Strand A
Oasis, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, with Union of Educational Institutes
Support for ‘social orphans’ at risk of trafficking.
Partnership for Education and Communication, Tbilisi, Georgia, with Women’s Democracy Network of Georgia
Improving mental health of young people through emotional resilience.
Unison, Erevan, Armenia, with Family Counselling Centre
Support to families of people with a variety of disabilities
‘Gulrukhsor’, Khujand, Tajikistan, with ‘Ghamkhori’
Amplifying the voices of women suffering from domestic violence and capacity building of NGOs involved, including advocacy.
Crisis Center Chance, Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan, with 5 NGOs around the country
Pilot project to test American WINGS methodology to support victims of domestic violence.
Taldikorgan, Kazakhstan, and two other regional organisations
Assessment of state funding and services for children with disabilities and their accessibility
Parastor, Dushanbe, Tajikistan, with two other rural women’s organisations
Skills, business and financial training for vulnerable women and girls.
Almaz, Tajikistan, with ‘Zanoni komyob’ and ‘Sadoi kuhsor’
Information centres for migrants and families affected by war in Ukraine.
Rushdi Inclusia, Dushanbe, Tajikistan, with ‘Zanoni komyob’
Financial, psychological and legal support for families with children with disabilities.
Korgan-M, Shymkent, Kazakhstan, with women’s centre ‘Sogdiana’
Cross-border monitoring and counselling of labour migrants.
Strand B
An additional 8 CSOs in Ukraine and Moldova, already partners of BEARR’s, received grants under Strand B of the Scheme.
Congratulations to all our grantees on their thoughtful and varied project proposals. We look forward to working with them and sharing their project updates over the coming months!
Our 2023 Small Grants Scheme is being funded by donations from BEARR’s donors and individual supporters. Additionally, we are incredibly grateful to our major donor for their contribution to the scheme.